Paneling for elevator cabs



May 2i, 1968 J. F. KATES PANELING FOR ELEVATOR CABS Filed Feb. 20, 1964 Nvmwof 'Jay F Kws United States Patent O 3,383,820 PANELING FOR ELEVATOR CABS Jay F. Kates, Jamestown, N.Y., assignor to Watson Manufacturing Company, Inc., Jamestown, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Feb. 20, 1964, Ser. No. 346,334 1 Claim. (Cl. 52-623) This invention relates to paneling and is directed particularly to linterior panels for elevator cabs.

Elevator cabs used in passenger service are designed to have a pleasing interior. In many instances, such as department stores which change the interior decorotions of the building to conform to the seasons of the year, it is desirable to also change the interior of the elevator cabs to conform to the rest of the building. Heretofore this has not been possible except for minor decorations on the ceiling and the like due to the smallness of the space and the structure of the elevator cab. Also in many installations it is very desirable to change the interior decoration of the elevator cab to correspond with the seasons of the year.

ln order to do this, it was necessary to refinish the paneling of the cab, which is expensive and time consuming. Also, the interiors of elevator cabs are subject to rather excessive marring due to the smallness of the size of the cabs and the crowding that inevitably occurs from time to time. This means that either the cab has to be repeatedly retinishecl or be left in a rather shabby condition.

An object of the invention is to provide paneling for the walls of an elevator cab on which the interior affect can be easily and quickly changed.

Other and further objects and advantages are apparent from the following description taken in connection with the drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the corner of an elevator cab with the paneling in place;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a panel taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a panel;

FIG, 4 is a rear view of a panel illustrating the mounting means; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view illustrating the mounting of the panel on the frame of the cab.

The frame of the elevator cab may be of the conventional type with the panels 11 mounted thereon to form an interior wall. The panel 11 comprises a mounting boord 12 of substantially the same length and width as the panel. Around the edges of the panel is a stainless steel frame 13 formed in four separable strips 13a, 13b, 13C, 13d, each of a U-shape and having beveled ends matching at the corners in abutting relation. The strips 13a to 13d have a center piece 14 and front and rear pieces 15 and 16 at right angles thereto. The mounting board is preferably a ake board. However, .it may be made of wood or a plywood sheet. The board has a substantial thickness A to form the main rigid supporting member of the panel. The strips 13a to 13d are secured to the back of the mounting board by screws 17 extending through holes 18 in the rear pieces of the strips and threaded into the mounting board. Thus the frame is rigidly secured to the mounting board to form a unitary member. Thin laminated sheets 19 and 20 are' provided on the front and rear surfaces of the mounting board to provide a surfacing on both sides coextensive with the mounting board.

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The center pieces 14 extend forwardly of the mounting board to space the front pieces 15 a distance B from the mounting board and form a channel or groove around the frame.

Four sheets 21, 22, 23, 24, of the same size as the frame and mounting board are positioned in layer relation between the front pieces 15 of the frame and the mounting board and tting in the groove or channel formed thereby, with the foremost sheet 21 being presented for the interior surfacing of the panel. The four sheets may be made of a plastic material, such as Formica, ywhich may be rigid or slightly iiexible. The plastic sheets may be of solid colors or have decorative designs thereon depending upon the type of interior that is desired. The sheets 21 to 24 may be easily removed from the frame by removing the screws 17 holding the strip 13a or 13C and sliding the sheets out. The sheets then may be changed in position and reinserted into the frame. Thus the sheets may be easily changed and at the same time stored for use at a subsequent time.

The mounting board .12 forms a rm rigid backing for the substantially thinner sheets 21 to 24. Thus the sheets may be thin and not occupy too great a space while providing a simple storage of the sheets for 4future use. The panels may be mounted on the frame 10 of the cab in any suitable manner so that the panels can be easily removed for rearrangement of the sheets 21 to 24. As illustrated in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5 the frames 10 have a combination hole 25 and slot 26 and the screws 17 have a head 27 and a flange 23 which is larger than the head 27. The flange lits through the opening 25 and is smaller than the slot 26 so that the head 27 can be dropped into the slot 26 and the panel firmly held in place.

It is thus seen that the panels of the elevator cab can be easily removed, the screws 17 taken out and the sheets 21 to 24 rearranged. 0r in the case of redecorating, a new sheet or new sheets may be readily inserted. An entire cab may thus be redecorated in a Very short period of time at a very low cost. Further, the interior of the cab can be altered to conform with the season of the year or with any special holiday decorations. In the foregoing description four sheets have been described to correspond with the seasons of the year, but the invention is directed to a plurality of sheets and more than four may be used if desired.

The invention is set forth in the appended claim.

I claim:

1. A panel for an elevator cab comprising a substantially rigid board having a rectangular shape with four edges and front surface, a metal frame of metal strips extending along a respective edge dening an opening at said front surface, each of said strips having a center piece and rear and Ifront pieces forming a U-shape, said rear pieces being detachably secured to the rear of said board and said center piece spacing said front pieces from said board to form a storage `groove and space between said opening and front surface for a plurality of sheets, one of said strips along an edge being removable for insertion of sheets, sheets of less thickness than said board and substantially coextensive therewith and positioned in said groove and storage space by removal of said strip, said metal strips rmly holding said sheets in ilat layer relation against said board with the front piece at said opening as an interior decroative surface while the other sheets are stored between said front sheet and said forward surface of said board in said storage space.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Teich 40-152.1 Feketics 52-463 Lindstrom 52--582 Powell 52-623 Pomeroy 52-623 FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner. JAMES L. RIDGILL, JR., Examiner.

R. A. STENZEL, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A PANEL FOR AN ELEVATOR CAB COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID BOARD HAVING A RECTANGULAR SHAPE WITH FOUR EDGES AND FRONT SURFACE, A METAL FRAME OF METAL STRIPS EXTENDING ALONG A RESPECTIVE EDGE DEFINING AN OPENING AT SAID FRONT SURFACE, EACH OF SAID STRIPS HAVING A CENTER PIECE AND REAR AND FRONT PIECES FORMING A U-SHAPE, SAID REAR PIECES BEING DETACHABLY SECURED TO THE REAR OF SAID BOARD AND SAID CENTER PIECE SPACING SAID FRONT PIECES FROM SAID BOARD TO FORM A STORAGE GROOVE AND SPACE BETWEEN SAID OPENING AND FRONT SURFACE FOR A PLURALITY OF SHEETS, ONE OF SAID STRIPS ALONG AN EDGE BEING REMOVABLE FOR INSERTION OF SHEETS, SHEETS OF LESS THICKNESS THAN SAID BOARD AND SUBSTANTIALLY COEXTENSIVE THEREWITH AND POSITIONED IN SAID GROOVE AND STORAGE SPACE BY REMOVAL OF SAID STRIP, SAID METAL STRIPS FIRMLY HOLDING SAID SHEETS IN FLAT LAYER RELATION AGAINST SAID BOARD WITH THE FRONT PIECE AT SAID OPENING AS AN INTERIOR DECOORATIVE SURFACE WHILE THE OTHER SHEETS ARE STORED BETWEEN SAID FRONT SHEETS AND SAID FORWARD SURFACE OF SAID BOARD IN SAID STORAGE SPACE. 